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January/February 2017

January/February 2017

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PresidentCandace Bradfield

President-ElectRenee Mello

TreasurerMorgan Lyng Lukina

Past PresidentCandie Noel

DirectorsFred Antaki

Deborah CallowayPete Cullen

Seb FreyJackie HeathSandy KaplanConnie Landes

Greg Mann

Chief Executive Officer, SCCAR &Executive Director, SCAORHF

Kathy Hartman, RCE

Member Services Director,Director of Education & Professional

ServicesNorma I. Milete

Advertising, Communication& Marketing Director

Andrea Harbert

Administrative AssistantKaty Clark

BookkeeperLinda Zoccoli

For advertising and deadline information,please contact Andrea Harbert

(831) 464 2000AHarbert@mysccar.org

2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Inside This Newsletter

The REALTOR® is the official bimonthly newsletter ofthe Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS®

provided as a member service to inform, educate andupdate members on local, state and national news.

Santa Cruz County Association ofREALTORS®

2525 Main Street, Soquel, CA 95073(831) 464-2000 (831) 464- 2881 (fax)

President’s Message - page 3Legal & Industry Update - page 3Education Offerings - pages 4 & 5NAR Code of Ethics Training - page 5New Centennial Club & Members - page 6Congratulate SCCP Alums - page 7Partnership with CE Shop - page 8Holiday Open House Pictures - page 9New Year Wishes by Directors - page 10Installation of President & Directors - page 11“A Taste of Santa Cruz” Pictures - page 12Land Use Law Update - page 14New Laws for 2017 - page 14Welcome New Members - page 15Top Five Predictions for 2017 - page 15Online Performance Study - page 16SC County Housing Statistics - page 17Association Calendar - page 18

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I am so excited to start the New Year off as your 2017 Presi-dent! As President we are asked to choose a platform toguide us through the year, “BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY” ismy platform and I look forward to working with our membersto reach this goal.

Community builds trust, belonging, safety and caring foreach other. We certainly do this instinctively, but I wouldlike to challenge our real estate community to: Build more!Be better! Be stronger! Be kinder! and Be more involved!

As REALTORS®, our members are the face of the local realestate industry. We want the public to view Santa CruzCounty REALTORS® as exceptional professionals. By build-ing together we grow together, learn together, supporttogether, earn a living together, help people together andwe can rise together.

I believe my life in real estate was forever changed by beinginvolved in building our community in the following ways:

I have made lifelong friends…

I have earned the respect of my peers…

I have learned the nuanced meaning of ethics as itpertains to real estate…

I have been honored with the distinction of 2014REALTOR® of the Year…

I have become a stronger leader…

I continually learn about myself and others…

I now understand how to effectively make changein a positive way while learning from others andfeeling safe to do so!

As your President for 2017, I invite each and every memberto “BUILD OUR COMMUNITY” with me!

Monday, February 13, 2017, 9:30 – 11:30 am

Presenters:Real Estate Attorney Dave Hamerslough and

Coldwell Banker Attorney,Vicki Naidorf

Seascape Golf Club, 610 Clubhouse Dr., Aptos

Online registration opens January 3, 2017.

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Education &

Professional DevelopmentRegister Online by visiting our Web Portal

January

MLSListings Essentials

Wednesday, January 11, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

This is the first and only class you are required to attend as anMLSListings subscriber. Part lecture, part lab, this powerful coursewill jumpstart your effectiveness with your new MLS.

MLS Listings will be tracking attendance carefully. Please arriveon time and with enough time to confirm your attendance. Anyattendee who misses more than 15 combined minutes of the coursewill be required to take the course again.

Contact the MLS 800-546-5657 to register. SCCAR does not takeregistrations for this class.

Video Marketing and Messaging

Wednesday, January 11, 11:30 am – 1:30 pmVideo Marketing and Messaging - The closest thing to face to faceconversation! Take your marketing plan to the next level!

Learn about:> The benefits of video messaging> How to use video for marketing and to get more listings> Creating Relatable content and where to place it> Creating a better customer experience> The truth about Millennials and Social Media> Tools of the trade and how to use them for best result

Registration fee includes lunch provided by Sean Herrero, Com-merce Home Mtg.

Tackling Technology - Desktop (MLS)

Friday, January 20, 10 – 11:30 amLearn basic computer skills to navigate through MLS software andmobile applications. This lab-focused class will start at the begin-ning with mouse techniques, navigation, screen captures, browsersand general terminology.

Listing Management (MLS)

Friday, January 20, 1 – 2:30 pmAttend this class and you will learn the structure of the MLSListingslisting management input wizard, along with tools and techniquesfor enhancing your listing market exposure, keeping the data currentand staying compliant with the MLSListings rules and regulations.

Advanced Matrix (MLS)

Monday, January 23, 10 – 11:30 amYou have your dashboard just how you like it. You know how tosearch and create reports. You are able to communicate with yourclients through Matrix. Now it's time to learn how to bend Matrixto your will! Build upon the skills learned in the Basic Class, withfocus on searching with maps, customizing data results to meetyour specific needs and communicating your findings to your client.

SCCP: History & Culture

Friday, January 27, 9:30 am – 12:30 pmThe first in the Santa Cruz County Pro (SCCP) series which isdesigned to provide REALTORS® with knowledge and informa-tion to better assist their clients in buying and selling real estate inSanta Cruz County.

Topics to be covered:> Historical buildings and monuments> San Lorenzo Valley History> South County History

February

1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges

Wednesday, February 1, 11:30 am – 1 pmLearn everything you need to know about how 1031 exchangeswork and how to recognize an exchange opportunity.

Topics include:

> Basic 1031 exchange concept and rules> Recognizing the opportunities> Different types of 1031 exchanges> Common mistakes in exchanging> How to use 1031 to generate more business> Future of 1031's as part of tax code

Registration fee includes lunch provided by RonRicard,IPX1031(tm)

MLSListings Essentials

Wednesday, February 15, 9:30 am – 12:30 pmThis is the first and only class you are required to attend as anMLSListings subscriber. Part lecture, part lab, this powerful coursewill jumpstart your effectiveness with your new MLS.

Continued in next page

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January/February 2017

MLS Listings will be tracking attendance carefully. Please arriveon time and with enough time to confirm your attendance. Anyattendee who misses more than 15 combined minutes of the coursewill be required to take the course again.

Contact the MLS 800-546-5657 to register. SCCAR does not takeregistrations for this class.

SCCP: Land Use in Santa Cruz County

Friday, February 24, 9:30 am – 12:30 pmIn the second class of this nine course advanced training series youwill learn about Land Use issues in Santa Cruz County. Sometopics covered are: minimum steps to determine "build ability",biggest hurdles working with county or city planning/buildingdepartments, and much, much more!

Attend 7 of the 9 courses and earn your official certification!

Tackling Technology - Mobile (MLS)

Friday, February 24, 10 -11:30 amLearn basic smart phone techniques and skills to maximize fea-tures. This lab-focused class will start at the beginning with navi-gation, photos, applications and updates, maps, and generalterminology.

Education & Professional DevelopmentContinued From Previous Page

HomeSnap (MLS)

Friday, February 24, 1 -2:30 pmLearn how to use the new "HomeSnap Pro" mobile application toretrieve agent-level data when you're in the field. This workshopwill assist in getting you set up, branded and connected to listinginventories and market activity while you're on the move.

REALTOR®Property Resource (RPR) Essentials (MLS)

Monday, February 27, 10 – 11:30 amLearn to search and report using national-level MLS and public dataavailable through your National Association of REALTORS® mem-bership. Become your client’s nationwide real estate professional.

Registration Open for SCCP 2017!The Santa Cruz County PRO (SCCP) certification seriesconsists of 9 highly specialized classes held throughout theyear that will help make you a local expert.

Take advantage of our Early Bird Special until January 13 andreceive all 9 courses for $99! (Regular price is $159)

Sign up online at www.mysccar.org

At the 2014 Convention in New Orleans, theBoard of Directors of the National Association ofREALTORS® amended the four year time framefor Code of Ethics training to a two year timeframe. The change goes into effect following con-clusion of the current four year cycle on December31, 2016.

Consequently, beginning January 1, 2017 allREALTORS® will be required to complete Codeof Ethics training every two years.

The National Association’s Model Board Bylaws and Profes-sional Standard Policy Statement #48, REALTORS® Codeof Ethics Training, will eventually be amended to incorporatea two year time frame but not until completion of the currentfour year cycle.

REALTORS® are required to complete quadrennial

ethics training of not less than two hours and thirtyminutes of instructional time. REALTORS® complet-ing such training during any two year cycle shall not berequired to complete additional ethics training in re-spect of this requirement as a requirement of member-ship in any other board or association.

A REALTOR® completing the New Member Code ofEthics Orientation during any two year cycle shall notbe required to complete additional ethics training inrespect of this requirement until a new two year cyclecommences.

Failure to complete the required periodic ethics train-ing shall be considered a violation of a membershipduty for which REALTOR® membership shall besuspended until such time as the required training iscompleted. For more information regarding the NARCode of Ethics, click here.

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January/February 2017

We are excited to announce our new Centennial Club which serves to recognize those whocontribute $100 and above to the REALTOR® Action Fund. The REALTOR® Action Fund(RAF) raises money to advance the goals of our REALTOR® political action committees(PACs) at the local, state, and federal levels of government. Club members will receive twoexclusive luncheons as part of their contribution. Be part of the club by contributing $100or more in your dues payment.

To learn more about RAF, visit: http://www.car.org/governmentaffairs/raf/

Robert Bailey, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Paul Bailey, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Judy M. Brose, Century 21 M&M and Associates

Frank Claiborne, Century 21 M&M and Associates

Peter J. Cook, Lighthouse Realty

Pete Cullen, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Susan Draper, Community RE, Inc.

Pamela Easton, Century 21 M&M and Associates

Celeste Faraola, Schooner Realty

Kelly Frank, Allen Property Group, Inc.

Sebastian Frey, Realty World Virtuoso

Myriam Greene, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Regina Gurley, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Danielle Huff, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Stephen A. Karon, Karon Properties

Deann Kinerson, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Constance Landes, Sereno Group

Neal Langholz, Karon Properties

Geneva Lawless, David Lyng Real Estate

Gregory Lukina, David Lyng Real Estate

Morgan Lukina, David Lyng Real Estate

David Lyng, David Lyng Real Estate

Megan Lyng, David Lyng Real Estate

Sally Lyng, David Lyng Real Estate

Jayson Madani, American Dream Realty

Sal Maleti, Maleti, Sal Real Estate

Renee Mello, Renee Mello & Associates

Cheri Nilsson, Sereno Group

Candie Noel, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Barbara J. Palmer, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Dianne Pereira, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Stephen J. Pereira, Bailey Properties, Inc.

Janet Romanowski, David Lyng Real Estate

Melody Russell, Keller Williams Realty - SC

Carole Schwarzbach, Schwarzbach Assoc. Realtors

Dan Schwarzbach, Schwarzbach Assoc. Realtors

Susan Seeger, David Lyng Real Estate

Lauren Spencer, Coldwell Banker Residential Br

Dawn Thomas, Dreyfus Sotheby's Int'l Realty

Randy Turnquist, Century 21 M&M and Associates

Jo Ann Vear, Vear Properties

Marjorie Vickner, Century 21 Showcase Realtors

Karen Wade, Bailey Property Management

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January/February 2017

Bo BakerAlan Barich

Ann Berry-KlineTai Boutell

Sunny BrandtSheila Connelly

Michael FergusonOrion FlansaasAngel Garcia

Seabea GhophKathie GomesKristin Hurley

Neal LangholzMorgan Lyng Lukina

Megan LyngBeth Mariano

Katherine MassenaMarti Meyer

Jeanne MulhernBarbara Pearson

John RiberaRandy Turnquist

Jeff Wille

Learn more about the 2017 series at

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January/February 2017

"Find the good in everyone andexpect the best for yourself.”Candace Bradfield, President

“My wish is that theSCCAR members com-mit to their personal andprofessional growth sothey can reach theirgoals for 2017.”Renee Mello, President-

“I raise a toast to all SCCARmembers in celebration of allyou have done the last yearand wish you a happy andprosperous New Year.  I hope2017 brings you many oppor-tunities, successes and goodfortune.”Candie Noel, Immediate Past

“Wishing everyone goodhealth, happiness and con-tinued success in all yourendeavors, both personaland professional.”Pete Cullen, Director

“My New Year's Wish forSCCAR Members is thatthey and their families en-joy good health in 2017and beyond.”Seb Frey, Director

“My wish is that SCCARmembers and their fami-lies have a happy,healthy, and prosperous2017.”Morgan Lyng Lukina,Secretary/Treasurer

“My wish for all SCCARmembers is for a year full ofjoy and new opportunities.”Connie Landes, Director

“Wishing our colleagues ahealthy, happy, safe andprosperous 2017! Salute'!”Jackie Heath, Director

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January/February 2017

The Santa Cruz County Association of REALTORS®

Housing Foundation’s twelfth annual fundraiser, “ATaste of Santa Cruz” held at the Cocoanut Grove onNovember 10th was an overwhelming success, withclose to 600 people in attendance and thousands ofdollars in funds raised.

Over 25 real estate and affiliate companies teamedup with local restaurants and wineries to provide awide array of delectable cuisine showcasing theculinary talents and wines from Santa Cruz County.The booth sponsors also provided silent and liveauction items from local businesses and artisanswhich helped raised thousands of dollars for theHousing Foundation.

We are extremely fortunate to have our real estateand local culinary community contribute immenselyto the success of this event. We can not thank all ofthose who made it possible enough. Please visitfacebook.com/atasteofsantacruz or www.atosc.comto learn more and see more event photos.

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January/February 2017

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ADUs: California Legislature Passes Easier, Statewide Permit-ting Requirements and Restrictions For Granny Units/ADUs.

The California Legislature recently passed new rules making iteasier, faster, and presumably less expensive, for people to getpermits for new “granny units” otherwise referred to as “accessorydwelling units” (“ADUs”).  Senate Bill 1069, which was signed byGovernor Brown on September 27, 2016 and takes effect onJanuary 1, 2017, amends Government Code section 65852.2 torequire local agencies statewide to amend their zoning ordinancesto implement several uniform development requirements and re-strictions on ADUs – both substantive and procedural. Read more

California Supreme Court Rules On Duties Of Real EstateAgents in Dual-Agent Transactions.

In Horiike v. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Co. (2016)201 Cal.Rptr.3d 1, 383 P.3d 1094, the California Supreme Courtruled that all salespeople working under a single broker in a “dualagent” transaction owe the same fiduciary duties to both buyersand sellers that the broker does, even if different agents within thebrokerage represent the buyer and seller separately. Read more

Appellate Court Holds That Coastal Act Protections SupersedeState Affordable Housing and Density Bonus Rules.

In Kalnel Gardens, LLC v. City of Los Angeles, (2016) 3Cal.App.5th 927, the court of appeal held that affordable housingrequirements set forth in the Density Bonus Act (Gov. Code §65915 et seq.) and the Mello Act (Gov. Code § 65590 et seq.) weresuperseded by development restrictions set forth in the CaliforniaCoastal Act (Pub. Resources Code § 30001 et seq.). Read more

Appellate Court Holds That Affordable Housing “In-Lieu”Fees Are Not Exactions And Thus Not Subject To The Reason-able Relationship Test (Following California Building IndustryAssn. v. City of San Jose (2015) 61 Cal.4th 435).

In 616 Croft Ave., LLC v. City of West Hollywood, (2016) 3Cal.App.5th 621, the court of appeal held that the City’s in-lieuaffordable housing fee was not subject to the reasonable relation-ship test under the Nollan/Dolan line of cases. Read more

Laguna Hills HOA Prevails Against Homeowner’s IntentionalEncroachment Into Common Area.

In Nellie Gail Ranch Owners Association v. McMullin, (2016) 4Cal.App.5th 982, the court of appeal affirmed a trial court rulingquieting title to a portion of planned development’s common areain favor of a homeowners association (HOA) in Laguna Hills.Read more

 ©2016 Miles J. Dolinger.  This article is not intended to and does notconstitute legal advice or a solicitation for the formation of an attor-ney-client relationship, and no attorney-client relationship is createdthrough your receipt or use of any materials contained in this article.

Miles J. Dolinger, Esq.

New Laws Affecting REALTORS®

View a summary of new laws passed by the CaliforniaLegislature and the U.S. Congress that may affectREALTORS in 2017.

Click here

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Bailey PropertiesAndy Paulin

Coldwell Banker – San JoseMichael Johnson

Coldwell Banker – RosevilleBill Kavanaugh (secondary)

David Lyng REEvangela Masih

Keller WilliamsScott Evans

Strock RESarah Burkhart

Town & Country REPeter Eubank

REALTOR® Members

According to Realtor.com’s Active Home Shopper Report, the 2017home buying season will see a large increase in first-timehomebuyers. Find out what else it predicts.

Good news, according to Realtor.com’s Active Home ShopperReport, there will be an increased demand for suburban homes. Thebad news—buyers will also face greater affordability challenges.The study, based on September survey data of active shoppers onrealtor.com, analyzes responses from consumers who plan topurchase homes in the spring or summer of 2017. According to thereport, the percentage of first-time homebuyers could rise as high as52 percent of all buyers, an increase from 33 percent in 2016.

But, this boost in first-time buyers will also make affordability,down payments and credit scores a challenge, and those issuescould become the market’s top problem next year. Currently, thelimited inventory of listings is the top barrier to homeownership.

In general, suburban homes are preferred by 43 percent of first-timehomebuyers surveyed, likely due to their desire for safeneighborhoods, privacy and the needs of growing families.

Here are the study’s top five predictions for 2017:

1. First-time homebuyers could make up a majority of 2017homebuyers. According to the survey, first-time homebuyersmake up 52 percent of prospective buyers looking to purchase in2017. Millennials lead the pack with 61 percent of potential first-time buyers under age 35. Top reasons cited by millennials forbuying: getting married or moving in with a partner, growing tiredof their current living space, and planning to increase family size.

2. Affordability and mortgage qualifying expected to replace lackof inventory as largest barrier to homeownership. In 2016, 40

percent of home shoppers cited the lack of inventory as the largestbarrier to homeownership, but realtor.com reports this willpotentially shift to affordability and mortgage qualification issues asmore first-time home buyers enter the market. Of first-time buyersplanning to purchase next spring, 37 percent said their largestimpediment to homeownership is the down payment, and 30 percentsaid finding a house within their budget.

3. Safe neighborhoods, more living space and larger yards toplist of key home attributes. Safety, more living space andlarger yards as key features is consistent with their top goals ofbuying: attaining privacy and addressing the needs of theirfamilies. A third top objective of first-time buyers is to make afinancial investment that will grow over time.

As millennials marry and move in with partners, reasons to purchaseare driven by actual or planned growth in their families, and theyshow strong preference for single-family homes (39 percent) ortownhomes (34 percent), and away from multi-family homes (15percent), condos (10 percent) or mobile homes (2 percent).

4. Competition for the suburbs should heat up. With familiesand safety on the brain, it’s no surprise that first time homebuyersidentified the suburbs as their No. 1 preferred location. In fact, 50percent of all respondents identified suburban areas as theirpreferred location. For boomers, their desire for the suburbs canlikely be attributed to their desire to be close to family and friends.

5. Spring and summer will continue to be 2017’s hottest time tobuy a house. A majority of all survey respond-ents were beginningthe housing search at the time of the survey and planned to purchasein seven months or longer, indicating spring and summer willcontinue as the top seasons to buy and sell homes: 73 percent ofrespondents had been considering homeownership for less thanthree months and did not expect to purchase a home immediately.

For more information and to read the study, click here.

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of the REAL Trends Newsletter isreprinted with permission of REAL Trends, Inc. Copyright 2016.

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January/February 2017

The 2016 REAL Trends Online Performance Study launched thismonth. The study offers a plethora of information about real estatebrokerage websites, new technology trends and more. Let’s focus onreal estate traffic trends. Knowing this information will help youmake adjustments to get the most out of your site. How does yourbrokerage website stack up?

Average Time on SiteOne of the strongest indicators of a brokerage site’s overalleffectiveness and stickiness is the average time on site. For the sitesstudied, the average time users spent on each site was 289 seconds orfour minutes and 49 seconds, with a high of 416 seconds (6 minutes56 seconds) and a low of 79 seconds (1 minute and 19 seconds).

Average Pages per VisitThis statistic can be tricky to decipher because it is closely associatedwith the average-time-on-site statistic. Over time, new websitedevelopment and search results tactics have been skewing this number.On average, the consumers visited 7.76 pages per visit with a high of20.91 and a low of 1.51.

Average Bounce RateThis statistic is interesting because it shows the quality of trafficbrokerages are generating and the ease of which users are entering yoursite and finding relevant information immediately. REAL Trends onceworked with a brokerage that had an amazingly high bounce rate. Wediscovered that the main URL was one letter different than a majorcouponing site. It was a quick fix by filtering out the couponing traffic.The average bounce rate of sites in the study was 43.12 percent with ahigh of 82.74 percent and a low of 16.28 percent.

Click-through Rates and ConversionsOf the sites studied, click-through rate averages from all marketingsources range from 0.17 percent (digital banner advertising) to 2percent with Search and up to 5 percent with Facebook. Click-throughrates are only one part of the equation. Conversion rates are equally asimportant. These range from .5 percent on the low end to 5 percent onthe high end and fall somewhere within the 2.8 to 2.9 percent industryaverage. Remember, these are averages. In every instance, there are

peak performers. REAL Trends has seen Facebook specializedcampaign click-through rates fetch over 10 percent. Facebook happensto be the source with the highest click-through rates and the lowestconversion rates; however, when you mash the two together, you geta competitive online marketing channel. Read the full report forspecific sources and data.

Lifetime Value of a LeadAdwerx built a calculator for you to gauge the true value of a lead overthe lead’s lifetime. Many real estate professionals, brokers and leadsources get narrowly focused on the deal in front of them andforget that a lead is so much more. If worked properly, one leadcould turn into numerous referrals and deals. This calculator is aclever way for you to put in your market metrics to see what is thetrue lifetime value of a lead.

The Online Performance Study is available now for $149 go here

Thank you to our sponsors: Adwerx, Agent Jet, Boston Logic,Dotloop, Garlic Media, Juwai, Quantum Digital and SmartZip. If youare a client of any of these companies, you will get a complimentarycopy two weeks before it is available on realtrends.com.This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of the REAL Trends Newsletter isreprinted with permission of REAL Trends, Inc. Copyright 2016.

REAL TRENDS ONLINE PERFORMANCE STUDYReal Estate Traffic Trends

By Travis Saxton

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View our Calendar Online at www.mysccar.org